It was just over 15 months ago when Houston’s trade talks involving disgruntled star James Harden reached a boil, and a package from Philadelphia involving young All-Star Ben Simmons was a finalist. Clearly, the Rockets had at least some level of interest in January 2021.
Now, as the calendar turns to May 2022, is that still the case?
Today, there are certainly reasons for the Rockets and other teams to have less interest. After all, Simmons didn’t play in a single game during the 2021-22 season due reportedly to a combination of mental issues and a longstanding back injury. That adds considerable uncertainty to his future projections. On the other hand, Simmons is still only 25 years old and, on paper, still has his NBA prime years in front of him. While interest in Simmons is down, there’s a case to be made that it shouldn’t be zero.
With Brooklyn (where Simmons is now under contract) having a high sense of win-now urgency based on the veteran All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, many speculated after their playoff elimination that Simmons could become a trade chip to bolster that roster.
To that end, The Ringer’s NBA insider Kevin O’Connor recently wrote about a potential Rockets-Nets trade involving Simmons:
Perhaps a young team like Houston would revisit a Simmons trade since his trajectory is on the same timeline as Jalen Green. A package with some combination of Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, and Christian Wood with draft picks could provide Brooklyn with the necessary depth and versatility to make other moves.
Assuming none of those picks are premium assets like Houston’s own first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023, it’s not implausible. However, it still might be too risky to Rockets general manager Rafael Stone.
As of now, Houston is positioned to have significant salary cap room in the 2023 offseason. Simmons, on the other hand, is owed $37.9 million guaranteed in the 2023-24 season and $40.3 million in 2024-25. Given the…
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